Small Fish, Big Prospects for Bio Business

NORWAY - An investment in catching little crustaceans is hoping to yield more than fishfood for the Aker group's Aker BioMarine division.

The company harvests krill, tiny shrimp-like invertebrate animals, which are used to make oil and food products for the aquaculture and animal feed industry.

However, reports in Aftenposten, say that Aker Biomarine hopes the little shrimps will turn into a gold mine because they also contain bioactive materials that can be used in dietary supplements for better health and to prevent heart disease.

Four years ago, the company started trawling for live krill in the frigid waters along the edge of Antarctica. It has developed a specially outfitted ship that has an advanced factory onboard for processing the health-promoting ingredients – phospholipids and astaxanthin – from live krill.